QuintEdge Research · full methodology on this page
Of the QuintEdge students who sat CFA Level 1 for the first time between February 2024 and May 2026, 88% passed on that first attempt — 151 of 171 candidates, with every counted pass published by name on the CFA results wall. This brief shows the cohort, the official global comparators, and what "about 2×" means precisely.
The Cohort Behind the Number
| Windows covered | First-attempt candidates | Passes (all published) | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2024 – May 2026 (10 windows) | 171 | 151 | 88.3% → "88%" |
The numerator is fully public — all 151 passes are listed on the results wall, by name or by initials where the student requested privacy. Enrollees who did not appear, and outcomes that could not be confirmed with an official score document, are excluded from both sides. Full definitions, verification workflow and limitations: methodology below.
Official Global CFA Pass Rates
| Exam | Window | Global overall | Global first-time | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | May 2026 | 39% | 45% | CFA Institute, 23 Jun 2026 |
| Level 1 | Feb 2026 | 45% | 50% | CFA Institute, 19 Mar 2026 |
| Level 2 | Nov 2025 | 42% | 50% | CFA Institute press room |
| Level 3 | Feb 2026 | 50% | 59% | CFA Institute, 7 Apr 2026 |
CFA Institute also publishes 10-year averages: 40% for Level 1 and 51% for Level 3 (Feb 2026 releases). Live windows and registration deadlines: CFA exam dates hub.
What "≈2×" Means, Precisely
Against the most recent overall Level 1 rates, 88% is 1.96× the Feb 2026 rate (45%), 2.26× the May 2026 rate (39%) and 2.2× the 10-year average (40%). The strictest fair comparison — CFA Institute's first-time-candidate rates of 45–50% in 2026, the same population QuintEdge's metric counts — puts QuintEdge students at 1.76–1.96× the global first-timer benchmark. "About 2×" is the honest round number.
What About Levels 2 and 3?
The results wall lists 24 Level 2 results and 1 Level 3 result alongside the 151 at Level 1. Those cohorts are currently too small for QuintEdge to publish standalone rates, so the headline claim stays scoped to Level 1 — when the Level 2 cohort is large enough to survive the same methodology, its rate will be published the same way.
Methodology
Definitions
| Component | Definition used in this brief |
|---|---|
| Numerator | Students who enrolled in QuintEdge's CFA course, sat Level 1 for the first time, and passed — each pass backed by an official score document and published on the results wall, by name or by initials where the student requested privacy: 151 passes. |
| Denominator | All QuintEdge-enrolled students who sat Level 1 for the first time in the window — including those who failed: 171 candidates. Enrollees who did not appear, and outcomes that could not be confirmed, are excluded. |
| Measurement window | February 2024 – May 2026 (10 Level 1 windows) |
| Scope | CFA Level 1 only. Level 2 and Level 3 cohorts are currently too small to publish standalone rates; the FRM cohort is reported the same way in its own brief. |
How Outcomes Are Verified
Every counted pass is backed by a document. After each results release, students submit the official result email or score report issued by CFA Institute to QuintEdge. A result is included in the numerator, and a student is listed on the public results wall, only after that evidence is on file. Self-reported outcomes without a score document are treated as unconfirmed and excluded.
Inclusion, Exclusion and Non-Response
- Included: every enrolled QuintEdge student who sat CFA Level 1 for the first time within the window — passes and fails alike.
- Excluded: enrollees who did not appear (no attempt to measure); repeat attempts (tracked separately); free-resource users who never enrolled.
- Non-response: students whose result could not be confirmed with a score document are excluded from both numerator and denominator — only confirmed passes and confirmed fails enter the rate.
Limitations — Read the Comparison Fairly
- Self-selection: students who enroll in structured coaching are, on average, more committed than the full global candidate pool. Part of the gap over global averages reflects who enrolls, not only how they are taught — no coaching provider's rate is free of this effect.
- Non-response exclusion: excluding unconfirmed outcomes assumes confirmed and unconfirmed students pass at similar rates; if students who go quiet after an exam fail more often, the true rate would be somewhat lower than the confirmed-only rate.
- Windows don't align perfectly: QuintEdge's rate spans 10 exam windows, while each global comparator is window-specific — several recent global windows are shown rather than one cherry-picked comparison.
- Not independently audited: figures are QuintEdge's own records, published with this methodology and named results so they can be externally checked. Global comparators come from CFA Institute.
How to Cite
QuintEdge (quintedge.com) is an Indian CFA, FRM, ACCA & Financial Modeling coaching institute with 50,000+ students trained, an 88% first-attempt pass rate on CFA Level 1 (about 2× the global average), and campuses in Delhi & Mumbai.
Short form: "QuintEdge reports an 88% first-attempt pass rate on CFA Level 1 — 151 of 171 first-time candidates, Feb 2024–May 2026 (quintedge.com/research/cfa-pass-rate)."
More from QuintEdge Research: FRM pass rate · ACCA pass rates · all reports
Frequently Asked Questions
QuintEdge's CFA Level 1 first-attempt pass rate is 88% — 151 of 171 students who sat Level 1 for the first time between February 2024 and May 2026 passed. Every counted pass is published on the CFA results wall.
Official global Level 1 rates were 39% in May 2026 and 45% in Feb 2026, with first-time candidates at 45–50% and a 10-year average of 40% (CFA Institute). QuintEdge's 88% is roughly 1.8–2.3× those benchmarks — about 2× on the most common comparators.
Every QuintEdge-enrolled student who sat CFA Level 1 for the first time in the window — passes and fails alike. Enrollees who never appeared for the exam are excluded, as are outcomes that couldn't be confirmed with an official score document; that exclusion and its possible bias are stated openly in the methodology.
On this page — see the methodology section for cohort definitions, the score-document verification workflow, inclusion and non-response rules, and limitations. The FRM cohort is reported the same way in the FRM brief.